We Are Family...

Today went to my cousin's house to visit with them. My Aunt is in town so we got to see her too. My sister and John were there as well. The girls love visiting with everyone. They are a large group when all together but usually very well behaved. All together there are six girls and two boys. Gavin is the newest addition. As with all the babies in this family he is very cute. Today was the first time I got to meet him and I look forward to watching him grow. Now speaking of growing - Sami is not the oldest. As a matter of fact Vicky and Jade are both older than her. However you would never know it by her size. She is by far the tallest. And Nathan is growing too. No more curls! He is now a big boy with his big boy haircut. Even though we live close by our schedules don't allow us to see each other as much as we would like. But today was fun for everyone. We look forward to doing it again soon.

My Grams

Today is the one year anniversary of my Grandma's passing. It doesn't seem like she has been gone that long already. Probably because I think of her everyday. I know she is keeping a close eye on those she left behind. I feel her with me always. My Grams and I were very close. She took great care of me not only when I was little but also when I was stuck in bed with morning sickness both times. She was Sami's best friend. On Wednesday a friend of Samantha's came up to me and told me how she is always talking about her Gigi. Both girls were very lucky to have her for as long as they did. My Grams had great faith and had a strength inside her like no one else I know. She passed that on to her grandchildren. For the last 8 years or so she lived here with my parents so I got to see her all the time. We would go shopping and out to lunch. After she got sick I would help get her to her doctors appointments. When she made up her mind to go on she had the nurse call me in first. Gram told me she thought I would be able to handle it better and would then be able to help my Mom and Aunt deal. I felt great pride that she thought so highly of me. I also know that she is the one who taught me such great strength. The night she slipped away was the most beautiful night of my life. Earlier in the day she had said goodbye to all the great-grandkids and Scott. That night Rich, April, My Mom and Aunt, my Dad and myself were gathered around her. She spoke with each one of us. She never said goodbye. She simply told us she would wait for us in Heaven and when it was our turn to come she would be there to greet us. She told us how beautiful it was there and how handsome Jesus was. And then she was gone. It was all so peaceful. To this day I can still feel her soft gentle hand on my cheek. I can see her beautiful smile. And as I said before I know I am who I am because of her. I love and miss you Gram and I'm looking forward to seeing you in Heaven one day.

It's cookie time!

Every January a very special thing happens. Girl Scouts and Brownies all over the US sell cookies. This includes Samantha and Meaghan. This is Meag's first year to sell cookies. Although she can take credit for half of the cookies Sami sold last year. This year there is a new sugar free chocolate chip cookie and lemon chalet cremes. As always there are thin mints, trefoils, do-si-dos, samoas, all abouts and tagalongs. Each box sells for $4.00 a box. I know it is hard to buy from the girls when so many of you are far away. But if you really want them and don't have a "supplier" we are happy to ship them to you. There is another way to help the girls meet their goals of selling 110 boxes each. Operation Thin Mint allows you to purchase a box of cookies that is sent directly to deployed military troops. So far the Girl Scouts have been able to send 1,086,157 boxes of cookies. When you are so far away it is wonderful to get a taste of home. Scott has received many boxes this way and has always appreciated it. All Operation Thin Mint purchases are tax deductible as a charitable contribution. So if you are interested just leave me a comment and I will be in touch with you.

San Diego Super Chargers!

So today was Charger Spirit Day at school. At least 99% of the kids wore their jersey's or Charger colors. Meaghan was lucky enough to still fit into her Charger cheerleader outfit. For Samantha I had to go to the mall and buy something. This was not an easy task. The day after 7th grade decided on our spirit day the mayor announced that it would be spirit day for all of San Diego. Samantha ended up with an adults large sweatshirt because everyone was sold out or had very limited quantity of Charger gear. The most disturbing thing about this is that the adult large sweatshirt isn't as big as I thought it would be on her! She seriously needs to stop growing. Anyway, San Diegans are very much behind their sports teams no matter how they are doing. However I do believe after my shopping experience yesterday that the last few non-sports fans have changed their minds and jumped on the band wagon.

Year In Review

Alright it is New Year's Eve and since I didn't write a Christmas letter this year I have been asked to write a year in review. So here we go!

The year started off on a somber note when my grandma passed away on January 24th. She was my role model. She was always loving, caring and strong in her faith. Even in her death she was graceful and beautiful.

Scott has spent his year working. If he wasn't underway on work-ups for deployment he was working his part-time job. He is a supervisor for Elite, the security company that works all the Padre and Charger games. Scott loves baseball so it really isn't work for him. In May Scott came down with Bells Palsey. He has battled it since then. While he has had a good amount of recovery it looks like he will not have a full recovery. He is now deployed and will hopefully return home before his 40th birthday.

I am still working at the girl's school, Christ Lutheran School. I am the kindergarten and first grade aide. I love my job! The work itself is fun and easy. As well I get to see the girls during the day. I did give up my position as Girl Scout leader for Sami's troop this year. But now I am the Family Readiness Leader for Scott's ship. It is a hard job but worth it. This year marked 15 years of marriage for Scott and I. I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly!

Samantha just turned ten and is in fourth grade. She continues to keep her grades high and enjoys reading. Her girl scout troop is getting ready to go on their first camp out next month. She is counting down the days until Tiger Cruise. She can't wait to fly to Hawaii and join her dad onboard the Tarawa for a week. Sam is quickly becoming a young woman. She helps out around the house and as I type is helping her Grandma cook dinner.

Meaghan is six and in first grade. She loves her teacher and friends but is at school to socialize not work. However when she puts her mind to it she is very good at her school work. This year she joined a Brownie troop and really loves it. She is one of a kind. She is witty and way too smart for her own good! Life is her way or the highway. She is so stubborn she even sleeps with her arms crossed!

We had a good time this summer spending a week in Mammoth with my sister and John and my parents. We spent my birthday at Bodie exploring the ghost town. We really enjoyed our time there and hope to make another trip this summer.

I know I will soon be writing my 2008 year in review. Time goes by so fast. I wish you all a wonderful 2008!

Lions, Tigers, but no Bears, oh my!

Today we went to the Wild Animal Park. It is a beautiful time of the year to go, if you don't mind the Santa Ana's. It has changed a lot since we were last there. The new Safari Tour seems to get you closer to the animals but you have to pay extra to ride it. The best part of the day was seeing a squirrel run in front of the rhinos to get to the food. Scott you would have loved it! Only we would see a squirrel amongst the wild animals. I was a bit on edge at the lion camp. The one lion keep staring at me the entire time we stood there. At one point Sami stood in front of me because it started to bother her too. I'm sure the lion was thinking, "Ah, an appetizer before dinner!". The gorillas were anti-social. The elephants, well, their elephants. Although there were quite a few new baby elephants. And of course the meercats were a big hit. The one rhino was the last of his kind and they said the females have no interest in him. Talk about hard knocks! The giraffes were tall, 18 feet tall to be exact. Oh, and as we were leaving I was buzzed twice by a crane. All in all it was a good day, however I do think that the zoo is a much better place to visit. Besides, it's World Famous!

Christmas 2007

Wow the New Year is upon us. I hope everyone had a Christmas full of fun and great memories. We were very lucky to have Scott home for Christmas. It has been a wonderful holiday season having him home but tomorrow he must return to the ship. I know it has been hard for him. Nobody wants to come home because your mom is sick. However she seems in good spirits and we hope that the treatments are working. My parents came over and spent Christmas here with us. My Dad and I made an outstanding dinner. The girls are now taking turns staying over at Grandma's and just enjoying the rest of their vacation. They got new bikes for Christmas and living in San Diego they have had ample opportunities to ride them. And when it gets too cold and dark outside they retire to Sami's room to play air hockey. Now can I tell you how excited Scott and I are about the air hockey game? We could play for hours! It's sometimes hard to remember it isn't our toy. I will miss having him home but at least I still have to good opponents here with me. Scott will be going back to the Tarawa so his new "old" address is:

MM2 (SW) Robert S. Moore

Eng. Dept. MP2 Div.

Uss Tarawa LHA-1

FPO AP 96622-1600

Email: moorer@lha1.navy.mil

Oh, Mattie- we got an 98% on "our" mission! They also get a language grade on it for which she received 100%!